Special 158 Revolution of the Daleks

"Doctor Who" used to be my favourite show a couple of years ago, I was crazy about the series but it gradually started to bore me, especially after Capaldi stepped down as the Doctor, and my enthusiasm for the series totally vanished. I watched all the new episodes with Whitaker but more out of nostalgia for once loved franchise than because I really enjoyed these specific stories. I am not very fond of Whitaker's Doctor, though I am not sure whether she is a worse Doctor than her predecessors or if I've just outgrown the show and it is simply to childish for me. I have fond memories of the previous Doctors, but I am not really much interested in the new episodes. This story turned out to be quite enjoyable, though. I had lots of fun watching it, but also some longing for the older times when I really loved the show. Now I feel rather lukewarm about Doctor Who. It is a bit of a pity that both Graham and Ryan left the Tardis, since I liked these characters much better than Yaz and the Doctor. Though I definitely understand their reasons for leaving the Tardis, as I feel the same way myself.

i actually really liked this! i think chibnall is trying to hit on very contemporary important messages, such as the rise of fascism worldwide again, and i think it's difficult to make it original and fun and exciting and children-oriented etc all at the same time, but we can see he is trying and he loves the show, and i think that counts. it's a different take, more focused on earth and human problems, less space analogies, less subtle, but i see no great harm in that.
and this is a recurring theme for 13: going back to important moments in human history when evil won despite every effort, but this time she actually saves earth, it's the great thing about fantasy.
i also feel like the companions so far haven't really connected emotionally with the doctor, and i thought that was part of what was going on, so when ryan decides to stay on earth, because it's his home, it made sense to me. i didn't like to see him go, even if in this episode he was already kinda out of it, ready to leave. and it was a shame to see graham go too, but i think it makes sense to him as character: family is the most important thing, and ryan is his family, not the doctor, because she was too busy being emotionally locked away from them, trying not to hurt or put them in danger, which for me is the 13's personality. she has to deal with a lot from her past right now, and the companions are very independent and for a long time don't seem to care about that. it felt rushed yaz's response to her being gone for ten months, but i think it's the kind of involvement she needed to make sense for her to keep on being a companion.
i liked the daleks coming to earth and being all very on the nose: police = fascism. but i liked it better when the not-so-much-a-metaphor ended and the daleks started fighting each other. i loved every reference, which i think goes to show how much chibnall is himself a fan of the show, how much is willing to say to us: hey, i love it too, i love the mythology and the callbacks, but i'm more interested in doing something different, something that makes sense for me. and the doctor is all about change, so why not go to this with an open mind and heart? really excited for the next season. this year is already somewhat better than last one because in it there's doctor who new episodes

I honestly don’t know if this Doctor Who episode was actually a good and solid story, because the bar is so low. Due to the pandemic and all that stuff, it sure feels like this story has been canned for a while now. It's been almost a year since we got a proper Doctor Who story on the telly. This story is a sequel from last year's New Year special, so I guess next year's going to be the conclusion for this Dalek trilogy. I liked it, but not much happened and Chibnall had lousy moments. It feels like it doesn't address anything that happened during Series 12 finale. Ugh… the infamous "Timeless Child" retconning that I didn't like at all. Why is the Doctor questioning her own life again after the Runaway Doctor's (that's what I'm calling the Ruth Doctor) speech? It changed nothing. But now it does? Why did she stay in jail voluntarily FOR DECADES?! And also, Chibnall does not address why was she in jail in first place… oh, wait. Just for "being herself". Ugh. So Jack comes to break the Doctor out without that much of an explanation. Ok. And about John Barrowman's addition… I had fun. It's always fun to see Captain Jack interact with the Doctor and the companions but… I felt like he didn't had to be there. There was no point on having him, story-wise. I think I just liked the nostalgic feeling to it. And him leaving the Doctor just like it was not a big deal was weird. I know it tries to be like a backdoor nod for both Jack and Gwen's appearance later on or maybe a Torchwood revival? We'll see. Maybe Chris Chibnall should move on to write for that show. Am I right? So the Doctor comes back to Earth and doesn't tell any of the companions that she spent DECADES in jail and comes back like nothing had happened. Why? And the episode doesn't address Yaz's obsession or her emotional journey either. But there are good moments. I liked all of them hugging at the end. It was a touching moment. I liked how Ryan called the Doctor out again and deciding to leave the TARDIS on his own. We saw how he struggled to get back to his ordinary life. I loved how Graham decided to be there for his grandson. Ryan and Graham's relationship was the best of both Series 11 and Series 12. It really felt earned. I liked that Yaz stayed with the Doctor. We really haven't got that much of development for her character. I'd love to see how that turns out. I would've preferred to watch just the both of them traveling in the TARDIS alone. But we'll be getting another companion, so… there's that. I'm excited, though. I really do not know that much about British TV but a comedian is always welcomed. I'm excited to meet Dan! Now, in regards of the story itself… I liked it. It was a fun one off adventure. I liked how the Doctor put the Daleks against each other (again) to fix the "drones" problem. I liked how they fixed the back-up TARDIS problem too, because we would be questioning that, I'm sure. It felt more like a Robertson story with a little bit of the Doctor in it, to be honest. And it was weird how it turn out in the end for the Robertson character (with all the Trump fuss going on). But it felt very well integrated into the story. What about the political messages written into the script? Weird. But I think that what Chibnall's take on Doctor Who is all about. Oh, well. I would've liked if the Doctor confronted Robertson (or anyone, really) about the PM's death. It was on the telly! Overall, it was fun to watch new episode of my favorite show again. I'm excited for Series 13, I really am. Now I'm just hoping for Chibnall to improve his writing skills. Blimey.